Urban Rec Superbowl LVIII

May 3, 2023 - 2 years ago

Press Release: Urban Rec Australia’s Superbowl Flag Gridiron Tournament raises money for OTLR.

Release: Urban Rec Australia, the leading provider of adult recreational sports leagues in the country, held its annual Flag Gridiron tournament on Sunday, 12 February 2023 in honor of the NFL Super Bowl LVII. The tournament hosted two divisions - intermediate and recreational - with six teams each, for a total of 12 teams and about 100 players participating, marking Urban Rec’s largest annual Flag Gridiron tournament to date.

History of Urban Rec’s Annual Flag Gridiron Tournament: Since 2016, the tournament has been an annual staple to Urban Rec’s calendar. Wollongong serves as a prime location for the annual event, as it allows for teams traveling to from our other Urban Rec Cities. We had teams representing Sydney, Greater Western Sydney, Wollongong and Canberra. This year, Wollongong is also going to be hosting the 2023 Gridiron Australia National Championships from 24-29 April 2023, so it is Urban Rec’s hope that the 2023 Super Bowl Flag Gridiron Tournament has generated a bit of hype for this niche sport to encourage spectators to come out and watch the National Championships.

2023 Flag Gridiron Tournament: This year the sponsors and spectators really made the difference. Examples of this include but not limited to:

• A Young Henrys sponsored party cart serving up a classic American tailgate with hot dogs and beers from chilled kegs courtesy of Young Henrys.
• Fireball AU sponsored prizing for the intermediate division winners.
• Red Bull supported ‘Chill Out Zone’ featuring a tent, bean bags, tailgate games of cornhole and finksa plus Red Bull samples and the Red Bull event vehicle pumping DJ tunes all day.
• Wollongong Mustangs Gridiron Club sponsoring a field by staffing officials and bringing down a ‘ball launcher’ for players to show off their long-haul catches and TD celebrations.
• Spectators galore, including a team with a designated ‘water runner’ showing off his budgie smugglers throughout the day…truly embracing the spirit of the game.

A huge thanks goes out to Young Henrys, Fireball, Red Bull and the Wollongong Mustangs Gridiron Club for their generosity to contribute to the success of the event in their own unique way.

In addition to all of that, potentially the biggest difference in the 2023 tournament compared to previous years is the fact that all proceeds will be donated to Outside The Locker Room (OTLR), a charity that provides mental health education and welfare support to sporting clubs, schools and workplaces across Australia. With the help of the generosity of all of the sponsors, the 2023 Urban Rec Superbowl Flag Gridiron Tournament raised a total of $2145 for Outside The Locker Room.

"Outside the Locker Room are excited to partner with Urban Rec Australia as their wellbeing partner and to change the game for mental health in sport. The incredible support shown by Urban Rec Australia, its staff, its members and the entire community towards OTLR has been incredible. When presented with the opportunity to become partners, all of us at OTLR were ecstatic to become a part of the Urban Rec Australia family. What Urban Rec Australia brings to sport is amazing, focusing on fun, community connection, starting conversations and supporting one another, everything we stand for at OTLR. We believe with this partnership we can truly work together to connect our communities through conversation on the path to positive mental wellbeing for all."

Needless to say, the 2023 Urban Rec Superbowl Flag Gridiron Tournament was one to remember. Lindsay Malony, of Urban Rec Wollongong and Coordinator of the tournament, stated, “As someone who has been around American Football (Gridiron) for over 12 years. I can honestly say this was one of the highlights of my involvement in the game. The camaraderie of the teams, the buy-in from players in making it a memorable experience and the generosity from all our sponsors, all while raising money for a cause that is close to my heart, mental health awareness. This tournament reminded me how sport has the ability to bring people together. It’s events like this that reaffirm my passion to be involved in the sporting world and make social sport accessible to all.”

We can’t wait to see what this tournament brings in 2024, because it definitely will be back, so mark your calendars now for February 2024! If you’re keen to participate in other Urban Rec Australia events this year, 2023 has a high-energy calendar of events for the rest of 2023, including 3v3 Basketball Tournaments (Sydney, Canberra and Newcastle), City to Surf involvement (Sydney), a Touch Football World Cup (Canberra), a Soccer World Cup Tournament (Melbourne) and Beach Sports Parties (Canberra and Greater Western Sydney). Each of these events has its own unique personality and vibe, so you’re bound to find something that strikes your fancy, all while being active, having fun and feeling good about the fact that all proceeds will be donated to a selected charity partner.

For more information, please contact:

Madeleine Wilkie:

• Urban Rec Australia Pty Ltd
• 0406 669 500
• [email protected]

Urban Rec Australia Urban Rec Sports Club is a premier adult recreational sports organization that operates in major cities across Australia. They offer a variety of sports leagues and events for all adults and skill levels to participate in, including dodgeball, netball, flag football, football, volleyball, soccer, and more.

Access Social Sport Access Social Sport Inc advocates for positive change in the communities in which Urban Rec are embedded. We believe sport should be accessible to all Australians with added focus on minority groups. Accessibility issues in sport come in many forms depending on each persons individual situation, we aim to aid as many disadvantaged aussies as possible. We believe sport can provide endless enrichment to peoples lives and that this enrichment should be shared.

OTLR focuses on providing critical education for mental health and other social issues, while also providing education for communities to become leaders and inclusive for everyone. OTLR provides education to sporting clubs, schools and workplaces across Australia, looking to show that sport is more than just a game, that in schools the stigma stops here and provide workplaces the space to connect their community through conversation.

Todd Morgan

• OTLR
• [email protected]
• 0423118833

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APRIL: MOST VALUABLE HOST

April 30, 2023 - 2 years ago

Our most valuable host for the month of April is Olivia Lei

Another fresh face to the team and Olivia has been an awesome addition. Starting off hosting at Urban Rec, Olivia knew minimal about Netball. But credit to her willingness to learn, and several youtube clips later she was an expert! Olivia is now the face of our Netball Camperdown leagues (and guess what her fave sport is??? Basketball LOL!) and is absolutely owning it!

If you see Olivia around your leagues please give her a big WELL DONE! She deserves it

It’s people like Olivia that make Urban Rec so special to thousands of members each week, so Thank you!

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MARCH: MOST VALUABLE HOST

March 31, 2023 - 2 years ago

Our most valuable host for the month of March is Ben Folcarelli

Ben completed his first shift on Monday February 27th and since that very moment he has absolutely nailed his time as a Urban Rec Event Host. Ben Hosts 3 of our most busiest, popular and much needed leagues from a Monday – Wednesday and I don’t think Urban Rec HQ has seen someone so quickly adapt and nail Hosting as quick as Ben. 

Ben has been a breathe of fresh air with his enthusiasim and willingness to become an absolute gun event host. 

Only 1 month into the swing of things and this legend is already collecting the accolades. Well done mate!

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HIRING: National Marketing Coordinator

March 16, 2023 - 2 years ago

Urban Rec Sports Club is a premier adult recreational sports organization that operates in major cities across Australia. We offer a variety of sports leagues and events for all adults and skill levels to participate in, including dodgeball, netball, flag football, football, volleyball, soccer, and more.

Our culture is very fun-loving, disruptive, colloquial and social. We pride ourselves on being flexible, and very high performing. We are super professional, but don’t take ourselves too seriously. We are looking for a National Social Media & Marketing Co-ordinator to support our Managing Director.

The role is 2 days a week (15 hours per week) with flexible hours so would suit someone studying or returning to the workforce. For the right candidate, this contract will expand quickly.

ABOUT THE ROLE

• Create and schedule monthly marketing content for social media channels.
• Create content for seasonal advertising activities.
• Create a monthly newsletter template.
• Write content/articles for our website and Linked in Etc.
• Use Canva to create and oversee Brand Templates and Company content pools
• Review and approve content posted through our social media management platform - be the brand guardian.
• Reply to comments and questions, be proactive at monitoring conversations.
• Manage our Facebook Groups and communities to build brand loyalty.
• Find and pitch sponsors for our charity events.
• Create/update and send sponsor packages for national initiatives.
• Proactively seek and pitch PR opportunities.
• Organizing nationwide monthly events, collating presentations, setting agendas.
• Auditing and updating website content for national promotions and SEO requirements (attend monthly meetings).
• Manage and oversee paid advertising to find optimisation opportunities.
• Support MD on additional administration tasks as needed.

ABOUT YOU

• You are creative.
• You understand the internet and social media.
• Proficient or willingness to learn and upskill on platforms like Canva, Meta ads, Buffer, Monday.com etc.
• Good eye for detail and design as well as branding consistency
• Excellent copywriting skills for article writing, web administration, and caption writing.
• An interest in social media trends and hot topics (around sports, even better)
• A natural eye for video editing.
• No formal marketing experience required, though you need to have the flair and an eye of what our customers want.
• Living in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and available to attend leagues from time to time.

We are looking for someone to join our team long-term, but this contract is 3 months to start to ensure we gel and improve. We do not want an agency for this role, it is in-house only!

HOW TO APPLY

Send your resume and a cover letter/email to [email protected]

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UR-Royalty

March 1, 2023 - 2 years ago

Urban Rec Royalty Program, 2023.

It is with great pleasure that we introduce to you the Urban Rec Royalty Program.

Be the beneficiary of a $100 or $200 ‘Royal Pardon’. The Royalty Program is our shiny new loyalty program designed to show our appreciation and give back to those that support our Urban Rec family the most. In a time of impending Republicanisation we have decided to start crowning our Royal Family here at Urban Rec.

Your Loyalty makes U-Royalty… each season your team will earn a gem for their crown, a full crown needs 3 gems. Once your crown is full, you will be bestowed your chamberlain with your Royal Seal of approval and we will reduce your 4th season registration fee by $100 or $200. To those that earn this Royal Pardon, we love you and we truly are, in fact, your loyal subjects.

UR HQ

Annual Priority Periods (Sydney & Melbourne)

• Season 1 into Season 2: 27th March – 3rd April 2023
• Season 2 into Season 3: 10th July – 16th July 2023
• Season 3 into Season 4: 25th September – 2nd October 2023
• Season 4 into Season 1: 8th January – 15th January 2024

T’s&C’s

• Teams that register in three (3) consecutive seasons in 2023 to receive a $100 reduced team fee on their 4th season.
• Teams that register and pay in full during priority/promo week for three (3) consecutive seasons in 2023 onwards are to receive a $200 reduced team fee on their 4th season.
• Teams that register in three (3) seasons non-consecutively, with only one (1) season break, are eligible to receive a $100 royal pardon.
• Teams will be notified within priority registration leading to the 4th season and will be provided a private link for registering with the discount.
• The $100 or $200 will not be refunded to a card if the team has paid in full before realizing - a credit may be offered in this instance against the captain's account.
• The team does not have to have played in the same league/sport throughout the year.
• The team must be made up of over 50% of the same members, or have the same team captain.
• Teams using the deposit function but not paying the balance during priority registration will be eligible for $100 royal pardon.
• This promotion is in effect from January 2023 onwards.

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February: Most Valuable Host

February 28, 2023 - 2 years ago

Our most valuable host for the month of February is Cindy Hoang!!! 

Cindy made all of her shifts in the month of February as well as filling in for additional shifts too. Not only is she reliable, she is extremely nice and amazing with our all of our members across Tuesdays and Thursdays. We can always count on Cindy and there is no wonder why each league she is at always sells out each out season! Obviously, we aren’t the only ones that love Cindy. 

An OG host of ours who is always willing to go the extra mile to ensure her league is fun and sociable for all. See above photo, Cindy was kind enough to hand out roses and chocolates to members on Valentines day. 

Cindy you are a star! Well done and congrats, keeping doing you. 

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Gender Identity Inclusion, Rule Updates, Pride Round 2023

February 16, 2023 - 2 years ago

Urban Rec is proud to announce that we have recently updated our gender identity options across member profiles, the registration process, and rules within our club. 

While Urban Rec has always been LGBTQI+ friendly, the functionality of being able to offer places on team rosters for those that don’t identify as man or woman, has not been possible…Till now. 

We believe that all Australian’s should have access to social sports. We welcome all people, of any gender identity to join Urban Rec and benefit from the physical and mental health benefits that come with playing social sport. Urban Rec aims to provide a supportive and inclusive space for everyone, now and always. 

HERE ARE THE SMALL, BUT IMPORTANT CHANGES

1. Players can select a gender identity other than man or woman when creating their member profile.
2. Individual teams will have space available on team rosters for people who are non-binary, transitioning etc. 
3. Our sports rules have been updated to remove references to gender advantages or disadvantages in the context of scoring, defending, or positioning.
4. Urban Rec has become a member of Pride in Sport, a national not-for-profit sporting inclusion program specifically designed to assist sporting organisations at all levels. 

WHY ARE WE NOT MAKING ALL LEAGUES OPEN? I.E. NO GENDER REQUIREMENTS

Urban Rec has long been at the forefront of efforts to drive gender equity in the social sports environment. While many of our counterparts in the adult recreation space claim to be facilitating mixed-gender environments, there are very few other adult recreation providers that are facilitating exclusively mixed-gender leagues with the minimum inclusion requirements that we have long held to be fundamental to our programs.

All sports need to have a minimum gender identity requirement. Without gender identity requirements within a mixed sports environment we would unfortunately take away the equity of women, men and non-binary individuals having access to play in a mixed-gender, social, fun and fair environment. Simply stated, we would become a male dominated sports club. 

MORE ON RULE UPDATES

• Our sports rules have been updated to remove references to gender advantages or disadvantages in the context of scoring, defending, or positions. 
• Where appropriate physical advantages and disadvantages have been taken into consideration.
• These include Touch Football, Basketball, Softball, Flag Gridiron and Netball.
• These rules are now live within your member dashboard and on our website.

ACKNOWLEDGE THESE CHANGES WITH URBAN REC’S FIRST PRIDE ROUND

• Pride Round is happening nationally within all Urban Rec cities, Feb 20 till 24, 2023.
• To acknoledge all of our LGBTQI+ community as well as the additional announcements and updates.
• We welcome players to wear some rainbow to show their support.
• In Sydney, Our Party Cart will be attending a league each night with support from our sponsor, Young Henrys.
• Donate what you can for a sausage and a beer towards Access Social Sports, and PrideCup.
• What is Access Social Sports? Check out our instagram post here.

WHAT DO URBAN REC MEMBERS NEED TO DO?

Get to know your updated rules, continue to play with kindness and fairness. If you have a question about someone's gender identity before, during or after a game, talk to your Event Host. Urban Rec has zero tolerance for homophopia, biphobia and transphobia. 

These updates are new for our club and an ever-progressive process for us all. We will not get this right the first time, and we do not pretend to have it all figured out, but we promise we are trying our best. Through our membership with Pride in Sport and the input from our LGBTQI+ community, we will continue to update and evolve as necessary. Our commitment is enduring. 

If you have any questions or suggestions about the policy or updates, please contact [email protected] 

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Netball experience life changing for Emma Bastable

February 15, 2023 - 2 years ago

Emma Bastable (far right) pictured with her teammates. 

By Renae Smyth

Transgender netballer Emma Bastable first started playing in the Urban Rec Netball league in Sydney’s inner suburb of Redfern in 2018. 

A mixed social competition that Emma signed up for as an individual on a whim. A daunting step to take, given she didn’t know her teammates or the rules of the game.

Although, having played cricket, rugby and soccer growing up, Emma knew the rules and friendships would come later. So, for now, she focused on the fun and the opportunity to switch off from her days, working as a solicitor.

Taking more than eight years away from playing any sport, Emma admits there was always a concern in the back of her mind. An uneasy feeling that she may not be accepted by her team or the club.

“I was worried about the transgender stuff at first, I think that was one of the reasons why I hadn’t played sport for so long,” she said.

To her surprise, her gender was never a problem.

“It was totally not a big deal. Everyone accepted me and validated me in my gender. It was just never an issue,” she said.

Emma felt the support of fellow teammates and instantly felt welcome. Pulling on the GK bib for ‘The Flinstones’ felt right.

“I got really lucky in a way. I met a group of people that I really liked,” she said.

“The team was super supportive. I told them that I had never played netball before, so they were giving me tips and helping me along the way.”

Emma now plays multiple nights a week in five different teams and can’t imagine life without the game.  

“Netball has become such a huge part of my life and a big part of my identity.

“Having positive experiences over and over again has just made it easy to slowly start to play in more leagues and progress my abilities.

“I don’t know what I would be doing with a lot of my time if I hadn’t had such a good experience [with netball].”

The community netballer has thrown her support behind Netball Australia’s recent announcement of policy guidelines for inclusion of transgender and gender diverse athletes in the elite competitions.

“Diverse representation at higher levels is just so important for making everyone feel welcome in the leagues and in the teams.

“Kids look up to high-profile players and if they decide to pursue netball more seriously as a career, it is comforting to know that it’s an option for them. An option for everyone.”

To Emma, knowing the netball community has provided pathways and opportunities for others like her within the sport brings a level of acceptance, but hopes to see more engagement at the grassroots level.

“It’s really important for transgender people to be accepted and given the opportunity and to know that someone out there has there back.

“It takes a lot to take that first step of signing up for a community sport and if you have a bad experience, it could be enough to disincentivise you to stop playing sport all together.

“Encouraging  transgender people to participate in community sport goes a long way to changing attitudes and normalising acceptance of us and showing that we’re just out there doing our own thing and living a normal life.”

Emma will be a voice within the transgender and gender diverse community that will work with Netball Australia and netball member organisations as they develop policy guidelines for inclusion of transgender and gender diverse netballers at a community level.

Taking that brave step onto the court is an experience that Emma believes has changed her life and the person she has become, very much for the better.

“I’ve made so many friends through netball, friends that I never would have met before if I wasn’t playing netball,” she said.

“It allows me to be a better person and live a better life than I otherwise would be.”

For the original post from Netball Australia: https://netball.com.au/news/netball-experience-life-changing-emma-bastable 

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Sorry my dog ate my bibs...

February 14, 2023 - 2 years ago

This way, you keep your bibs and the world is a better place!

Urban Rec have teamed up with a sportswear manufacturer to design and make Urban Rec reversible Netty Bibs. No team will ever colour clash again!

Over the last 12 years exactly 2,334,345 sets of Netball bibs have not been returned at the end of the season. A further 5,345,232 sets of Netball bibs have been replaced due to missing GK & C positions. 400,000 have been eaten by the dog and 356,987 sets entered the washing machine to never be seen again… …So we’ve decided that instead of shoveling a monumental amount of aussie dollars into the ever growing netball bib furnace, we are going to make all new sets available to purchase online HERE.

Joining forces with Access Social Sport these bibs will be available to purchase HERE - 100% of the funds raised will be received in its entirety by the beneficiaries of Access Social Sports charitable donations. Every Set is a Donation to an amazing cause.

More on Access Social Sport and the causes it helps.

UR HQ

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January: Most Valuable Host

January 31, 2023 - 2 years ago

Our most Valuable Host for the month of January is Rachel Coulter!!! 😍

Rachel topped our leaderboard for the most shifts completed in the month of Jan. Coming back from Christmas is always a difficult period with host availability, but Rachel stepped up in a big way putting her hand up for some extra shifts, really helping Urban Rec HQ out! She even compiled the perfect week! Hosting all days from Monday Jan 9th – Friday Jan 14th. We will have to check the UR archives and go back through the history books, but this might just be a first. 🏆

Not only is Rachel forever reliable, but she is one of our better Hosts, always making sure members are enjoying themselves creating an awesome vibe at her leagues.😁

Members loves Rachel (please see above image: members making Rachel a baked cookie at her Multisport Tempe league!). 👩‍🍳

Thank you Rachel and well done. If you see her around at your leagues (I am sure you will), give her a big congrats!!! 👏

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